A Jungle turned Civilized
by Rikako
Summary: There are so many faces. Faces that I will never see again, faces that I don't remember seeing and faces that I remember so vividly it takes me back to the childhood that was once forgotten, but this isn't the world I knew for so long. . . SasuxNaru. A.U
1. Chapter 1

**A Jungle turned Civilized**

**Sasuke-Naruto**

There are so many faces. Faces that I will never see again, faces that I don't remember seeing and faces that I remember so vividly it takes me back to the childhood that was once forgotten. My brother hugs people that I barely recognize, while others hold happy smiles, waiting their turn to hold us after so many years of absence. I could feel the tears nearing the corners of my eyes and I pushed them back, adjusting my black coat tighter around my shoulders. This place once was my home, but now it was so alien, so out of place, as if I was just dreaming a horrible nightmare from which I would soon wake up, finding myself once again back in my bed, one foot away from my older brother, and get ready for school….

We drive around in circles for what seem like hours. Our guides were too scared to even say one word to me and I settled for hiding under the furred cap of my coat, my hands holding my Ipod nervously. The tears still threatened to spill but I bit my lip hard. My brother I could tell was watching me closely, not sure of what to do or what to say. "Sasuke," he said finally, his hand hovering over my shoulder carefully, "How are you?" he asks. "Fine". He didn't dare ask anything else as a few tears escaped my grasp.

It was nearly morning when we finally arrived at my new house. There is so much vegetation and so many rivers that it looks too wild to be a town. The houses as far as I could tell are poorly made, some so old they look like they are breaking, while others are made of sturdy cement. I pull my luggage out of the car, and head inside to drink a bit of coffee our new butler had prepared for us. I drink silently as my brother continues to chat happily, as if this was all natural, as if we had done this a million times over.

We bid goodbye and everyone headed back home while I explore my new house. Finally, I snuggled myself under the safety of the sheets of an alien bed, and the tears that I had been holding in since my departure fell as heavy rain masked my screams of fear.


	2. Chapter 2

_**13 views for the first chapter is a lot more than I had hoped for, so thank you :D**_

Itachi kept busy with our new home, settling business here and there while looking for a new school for me. Truthfully, we had lived overseas for so long that Japanese had become a struggle for me, and I was sure that my once above-average grades would soon drop dramatically, so I myself kept busy at home, spending my time studying my soon to be subjects in the language I would be taught in.

There would be times when I would just sit at my desk look out the window at the children playing in the streets, admire the students that walked to and from school every day, and watch with pity as an emaciated dog walked by the house. I could feel my body become frail and brittle. The lack of sun and exercise was turning me into an insipid creature, void of the gentle twinkle of the eyes and slowly becoming sickly. Itachi would stop and gaze at me now and then when he had time to come to the meals that Mr. Butler would prepare for us and comment momentarily on how I need vitamins. Of course, I would only nod.

Finally, the schools went on summer vacation. I began to see more children play on the streets and teenagers prowl them at night. Truthfully, it was different from the life I had known back in the States. I had never seen so much youth out on the streets like that before, and it surprised me that they would even be allowed to be out so late at night. I tried to ignore the laughs and constant loud music that followed them and seemed to always fall near my window, and at times it made me wish that we had an enclosure to our home. In truth, I knew that all the hate I had towards them was actually aimed at the jealousy I had towards them. They were home, while I was not.

* * *

Itachi became slowly consumed by his work, and I rarely had the chance to see him. I kept to my studies as the summer vacation drew itself along, the blazing sun soon becoming a bother as it lit my window with excess light, and I soon found myself in my front yard, sitting under the protection of a patio umbrella with constant refreshments from our butler. Slowly my skin began to retain its light glow, and soon I began to notice the elongated stares that the locals were giving me, and as much as it bothered me, I didn't try to stop going outside for my daily study sessions. It would mean that I allowed them to get to me.

Dogs began to prowl my yard at the smell of the snacks that I was given, and I can't say that I minded very much. It wasn't long before I began to feed them and give them shelter. There were so many races and variations of sizes, and I must say that they were all my favorite. Creatures that seemed so rough and violent slowly approached me and as I extended my hand for it to be smelt, they would bow their heads and allow themselves to be pet. Even those that seemed so skeletal would allow me to take care of them, and I was more than happy to help. In the desolated world I was confined in, there was solace in the company of those that had no home.

* * *

There were so many faces now that followed me when I would go outside to study and take a break amongst the herd of dogs that now called my front yard home. I felt violated yet amused at the same time. I had never been to this town before. My old home had been near Kyoto, not here in this valley of wilderness. Even so, going back to that place that was once my playground would bring the same effect. This world was still alien to me, and I couldn't get accustomed to it whether I was in Kyoto or Konoha. Even in the turmoil of the excited crowd that tried to get peeks of me during my routines, I noticed the presence of one local that with his inebriated stupor would often lean against a tree not far from my dog houses and stare at me with those blood-shot eyes that glowed red from the distance. He would often walk by when he was still sober with a gang so called friends, and in those moments one could truly admire the golden shine of his hair under the summer sun and the sky blue eyes that were still a bit scarlet from the beer he had drank the night before.

Though his appearance was breath-taking, his flamboyant, thunderous presence and his misplaced love for clothes that were obnoxiously orange and baggy was enough to deter any thought of mine to perhaps befriend him or even just speak to him. His voice was loud after he had had a couple of drinks and he would always be fooling around with his friends, making crude jokes and pranks and whistling at the girls that walked by.

Yet there he was. Every day after his little adventures with the bottle, he would stumble all the way up to the cherry blossom that stood between my yard and the concrete sidewalk. He would stare at me with those ruby eyes, irritated from the alcohol in his system and the smoke from the cigarettes that he smoked. It pitied me to shoo him away when he would fall against its trunk and fall into a drunken slumber, especially since the dogs seemed to like him an awful lot.


	3. Chapter 3

Itachi soon came home with news of my admittance into the prestigious Konoha Academy. Excitedly in that monotone voice of his, Itachi raved it as one of the best schools in the area and from what he had heard, one could get into any college just by mentioning that one attended to this school. Of course, in this small and quaint town that was now my home, as long as one had enough capital, neither brains nor honor mattered, just the amount of money one could pass under the table.

* * *

We set off later in the day to buy my new uniform, but it seemed that even then Itachi was more preoccupied by the ringing of his cell phone rather than the state of mind of his little brother. As we approached the first store, his hand never left the keypad of his cell phone or the ear piece that was receiving his calls. Mr. Butler, or Tobosaku, as he preferred to be called, accompanied me in and out of the stores when Itachi neglected to follow us. His calm but caring behavior meticulously watched over me ever since the day of my arrival and though I had tried to stay in my room that whole first week, he coaxed me out of my shell with a bowl of tomato soup and a side of grilled cheese. He had chatted happily as he cleaned my neglected room up as I ate, and though he received no reply from my part, he wasn't discouraged, and I was happy that he wasn't. Though I disregarded any endearment I had towards him at first, he kept coming at me with that obliging smile that never wavered. I just felt pity that he wouldn't live much longer due to his old age, yet he was as energetic as a middle aged man, though the hairs on his head were rapidly becoming white. But he kept up with me in my rapid chase to quickly find my uniform and get out the prying eyes of the locals that promptly noticed my presence outside of home.

* * *

I didn't like the way the dark blue pants were obnoxiously straight legged, and the fact that the baby blue button up shirt was too ridiculous to be worn outside of a lunatic asylum. I didn't dare grab a hold of the tie that was supposed to match my pants, and quickly removed the so-called uniform before anyone else would dare sneak a peek at it. I didn't like the fact that I had to wear dress shoes obligatorily instead of just the regular black sneakers that had been my refuge for so many years. I didn't like in any ways what so ever that I could no longer wear what I wanted to school. Though, hypocritically, not so long ago I found excitement in the thought of some day wearing a uniform once again, but one look at the thing that was supposed to represent my school pride sent my daydreams crashing into a world that was all too real to bare. I was fuming as we finally got into the limo that was going to take us home, but, of course, Itachi didn't notice.

One could say that in my isolation from the world outside of my dog yard was sending me into a deep depression that no one could see. I would often just sit at my computer desk and stare out the window before I would notice the tears that were running down my face. If Itachi ever came home long enough to take notice of me, he would reprimand me on the obvious indolence that I had throughout the day. Climbing stairs was a feat on its own and I would only move when necessary. If I happened to go outside, I would lay sprawled on the grass as the dogs around me made queue to be caressed. I began to lose track of time, and would often find myself suffering from dizzy spells and headaches. It wasn't long before I noticed the absence of the man that used to fall asleep on my property, and abruptly I was reminded that classes began in less than two days.

* * *

I had bought myself a black messenger back void of any decoration what so ever , and in it I placed a blank agenda with a few pens, setting it to the side as I hung my uniform on the closet door. As I stood before the full-sized mirror that stood between the bathroom and my bed, I began to feel my shoulders tremble and my vision blur. This wasn't my room. Tomorrow I wouldn't attend my school and I wouldn't enjoy my last year with the friends that I had known for so long. I would spend my senior year alone.


End file.
